Ohio’s second Buc-ee’s has cleared its major local approvals and is now targeting a 2028 opening. The Mansfield project will expand the corridor strategy that helped explain why Ohio received a Buc-ee’s before Michigan.
The travel center is planned for 37.5 acres near the Interstate 71 and State Route 39 interchange in Mansfield.
Mansfield City Council unanimously approved the development agreement June 2, 2026. That followed annexation, zoning and conditional-use approvals completed earlier in the spring.
Buc-ee’s representatives told the city that they are targeting the second quarter of 2028, meaning the current opening window runs from April through June.
What is planned for Mansfield?
The project calls for a roughly 74,000-square-foot travel center with 120 fueling positions.
Buc-ee’s expects to invest approximately $50 million in the store and create between 175 and 225 full-time jobs. Company representatives have said starting wages should be around $18 per hour.
The location will also require extensive infrastructure work. Plans include extending water and sewer service, constructing a new public street and building three roundabouts along State Route 39.
The infrastructure package is expected to cost approximately $15 million. Buc-ee’s will pay those costs upfront and recover part of the investment through a development charge on non-fuel purchases.
Mansfield will serve a different highway corridor
Ohio’s first Buc-ee’s opened April 6, 2026, in Huber Heights near Dayton. That 74,000-square-foot store sits beside Interstate 70 and State Route 235, giving Buc-ee’s access to one of the country’s busiest east-west travel routes.
Mansfield gives the company a different opportunity.
I-71 links Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, making the proposed store a natural stop for drivers moving between Ohio’s three largest metropolitan areas. The site is also relatively undeveloped, allowing the Buc-ee’s sign and building to stand out from the highway.
Founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin has described that visibility as part of the site’s appeal.
What happens next?
The approvals do not mean construction will begin immediately. Buc-ee’s must complete the property transaction, infrastructure engineering and additional coordination with transportation and utility agencies.
That leaves room for the schedule to change.
Still, Mansfield has moved well beyond the rumor stage. The development agreement is approved, the site has been identified and the company has given local officials an opening target.
The latest update is therefore encouraging: Ohio’s second Buc-ee’s remains on track for Mansfield, with a ribbon-cutting currently anticipated during spring 2028.
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